Apply for a 2010 Sportsman Permit

Applications for Utah’s most prized hunting permits accepted soon
Applications for next year’s most prized Utah hunting permits—2010 sportsman permits—will be available by Nov. 2.

Only Utah residents may apply for sportsman permits. One sportsman permit is offered for each of the following species: Desert bighorn ram, Rocky Mountain bighorn ram, buck deer, buck pronghorn, bull elk, bull moose, hunter’s choice bison, hunter’s choice Rocky Mountain goat, black bear, cougar, sandhill crane and wild turkey.

If you draw a sportsman permit, the dates you can hunt vary. But in most cases, they’re longer than the regular season dates. You can also hunt on almost any unit in Utah that’s open to hunting the species you drew a permit for.
Highly prized

“Sportsman permits are highly prized,” says Judi Tutorow, wildlife licensing coordinator for the Division of Wildlife Resources. “If you’re one of the lucky hunters who draw one, you’ll have plenty of days—and plenty of areas—to hunt.”

You can apply for a sportsman permit starting Nov. 2 at http://www.wildlife.utah.gov/ . Applications must be submitted no later than 11 p.m. on Nov. 19 to be entered in the draw for permits.

Draw results will be posted by Dec. 10. If you draw a permit, you’ll also receive a letter in the mail. “Not many hunters draw these permits,” Tutorow says. “If you receive a letter in the mail, it wouldn’t surprise me if you frame it!”

For more information, see pages 23 and 24 of the 2009 Utah Big Game Guidebook (www.wildlife.utah.gov/guidebooks ) or call the nearest Division of Wildlife Resources office. You can also call the DWR’s Salt Lake City office at (801) 538-4700.